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The .450 No 2 Nitro Express, also known as the .450 Nitro Express 3-inch, was developed by
Ammo-One, "450 No. 2 Nitro Express", ''ammo-one.com''
, retrieved 17 December 2017.
Cartridgecollector, "450 No. 2 Nitro Express", ''cartridgecollector.net''
retrieved 17 December 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:450 Pistol and rifle cartridges British firearm cartridges Eley Brothers cartridges
Eley Brothers
Eley Limited is a British manufacturer of firearms cartridges. Historically the company has produced a broad variety of ammunition, but today specialises in .22 Long Rifle cartridges for competitive target shooting. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, ...
in 1903.
Design
The .450 No 2 Nitro Express isrimmed
A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspaci ...
, bottlenecked, calibre cartridge designed for use in single-shot
In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have ...
and double rifle
The double rifle, also known as a double-barreled rifle, is a rifle with two barrels mounted parallel to each other that can be fired simultaneously or sequentially in quick succession. Synonymous with big game hunting found primarily in Africa an ...
s, it fires a projectile at over .
The .450 No 2 Nitro Express has a massive long cartridge case which has a large case capacity and compared to other similar Nitro Express
The Nitro Express (NE) series of cartridges are used in large-bore hunting rifles, also known as elephant guns or express rifles, but later came to include smaller bore high velocity (for the time) British cartridges.
Name
The term "Express" was ...
cartridges has a thicker rim and heavier walls. The size of the cartridge case gives it some of the lowest chamber pressures amongst the Nitro Express cartridges which, when combined with its thick rim and heavy walls, makes it almost impervious to sticking in the chamber.
Dimensions
History
Following early extraction problems encountered with the revolutionary .450 Nitro Express which had been created byJohn Rigby & Company
John Rigby & Company (or John Rigby & Co. (Gunmakers) Ltd) is a gunmaking firm founded by John Rigby in 1775 in Dublin. The company was established by the first John Rigby in Dublin, Ireland, apparently in 1775; his grandson, also John, opened ...
in 1898, Eley took the unusual step for the time of creating their own completely new cartridge and release it to the market in 1903, allowing all rifle makers to chamber weapons for their round. This was unusual for two reasons, the first was this cartridge has no blackpowder express forebear, the second is it was designed by an ammunition maker, as most cartridges of the period were designed by rifle makers. The .450 No 2 Nitro Express was so named to differentiate it from the original.
Ballistically, the .450 No 2 Nitro Express is almost identical to the original .450 Nitro Express and Holland & Holland's .500/450 Nitro Express also intended to replace the original. The early problems of the .450 Nitro Express were however soon resolved and the .450 No 2 Nitro Express was never as popular as its predecessor.
Following the British Army 1907 ban of .450 caliber ammunition into India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and the Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
, Eley developed the .475 No. 2 Nitro Express by necking up the .450 No 2 Nitro Express.
Use
The .450 No 2 Nitro Express is suitable for all dangerous game including elephant. In his ''African Rifles and Cartridges'',John "Pondoro" Taylor
John Howard "Pondoro" Taylor (1904–1969) was a big-game hunter and ivory poacher of Irish descent. Born in Dublin as the son of a surgeon he developed an urge to go to Africa and become a professional hunter. Taylor mainly hunted for his own ac ...
states the .450 No 2 Nitro Express is as good as but no better than any other .450-.476 calibre Nitro Express cartridges in terms of killing power. Taylor further states there is a psychological appeal attached to the .450 No 2 Nitro Express, the size of the enormous cartridge giving the hunter confidence that they are carrying a deadlier weapon that one chambering a similar cartridge.
Pondoro Taylor owned four rifles chambered in .450 No 2 Nitro Express, with them he killed several hundred elephant, scores of rhinoceros and several hundred buffalo. Other notable users of this cartridge include Philip Percival
Philip Hope Percival (1886–1966) was an English-born renowned white hunter and early safari guide in colonial Kenya. During his career, he guided Theodore Roosevelt, Baron Rothschild, and Ernest Hemingway on African hunts. Hemingway modelle ...
who hunted with a pair of .450 No 2 Nitro Express boxlock double rifle
The double rifle, also known as a double-barreled rifle, is a rifle with two barrels mounted parallel to each other that can be fired simultaneously or sequentially in quick succession. Synonymous with big game hunting found primarily in Africa an ...
s made by Joseph Lang, and Nripendra Narayan
His Royal Highness Lieutenant Colonel Shri Sir Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, ; 4 October 1863– 18 September 1911), commonly known as Maharaja Nripendra Narayan, was the ruler of the princely state of Cooch Behar in British India from 18 ...
, Maharaja
Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...
of Koch Bihar
Cooch Behar, also known as Koch Bihar, was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The state was placed under the Bengal States Agency, part of the Eastern States Agency of the Bengal Presidency. It was located south of the ...
, who hunted with a large battery of rifles including a .450 No 2 Nitro Express double rifle by Manton & Co.
See also
*List of rifle cartridges
List of rifle cartridges, by primer type, Caliber, calibre and name.
File:Cartridge Sample 2.jpg, 350px, From left to right: 1 .17 Hornady Mach 2, 2 .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, 3 .22 Long Rifle, 4 .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, 5 .17/23 SMc, 6 5mm ...
* 11 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviate ...
other cartridges of similar caliber size.
* Nitro Express
The Nitro Express (NE) series of cartridges are used in large-bore hunting rifles, also known as elephant guns or express rifles, but later came to include smaller bore high velocity (for the time) British cartridges.
Name
The term "Express" was ...
References
External links
Ammo-One, "450 No. 2 Nitro Express", ''ammo-one.com''
, retrieved 17 December 2017.
Cartridgecollector, "450 No. 2 Nitro Express", ''cartridgecollector.net''
retrieved 17 December 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:450 Pistol and rifle cartridges British firearm cartridges Eley Brothers cartridges